CHILDREN’S Television Workshop isn’t the home of Big Bird and “Sesame Street” anymore.

CTW will now be known as Sesame Workshop in a major branding move designed to increase its visibility and to trade on “Sesame Street’s” international fame.

“Sesame Workshop says who we are, and this is an opportunity for us to get more credit for our new properties,” says Sherrie Rollins Westin, Sesame Workshop’s executive vice president of marketing communication.

“Parents trust ‘Sesame Street,” she says, “and we felt it was a missed opportunity for people not to understand that our other endeavors, such as [kids show] ‘Dragon Tales,’ were coming from the people behind ‘Sesame Street.’

“Children’s programming is very competitive, and it’s important to stand out, to communicate who you are.”

Westin says the Sesame Workshop name will be used to brand all of the company’s properties.

The company’s Web site has already been changed to SesameWorkshop.com, for instance, while a new company logo will be introduced next season.

“It’s not like we’re going to pull our product off the shelves, but all new product will have the new corporate name,” she says. “It’s a bit of a transition.

“It’s not like we’re changing,” Westin says. “We’re so steeped in our roots and heritage that it’s not like we’re creating a brand-new name.

“This is clearly based on our history, but it’s also signaling a move forward at the same time – telling people we’re so much more than television.”